Spray characteristics of the rotating fuel injection system of a micro-jet engine

In micro-turbojet engines with less than 350 kW power, it is not easy to find a suitable fuel injector with good spray quality. However, the rotating fuel injection system can potentially provide high atomization quality without the high-pressure fuel pump through the centrifugal forces of the engine shaft. With this motivation, a very small rotating fuel injector with 40 mm diameter is designed for the micro-turbo jet engine. It is directly linked to a high-speed rotational spindle capable of a speed up to 100,000 rpm. The droplet size, velocity, and spray distribution from the PDPA (Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer) system are measured. The spray is also visualized by a high-speed camera. The test results show that the length of liquid column from injection orifice is controlled by the rotational speeds and that SMD (Sauter Mean Diameter) is decreased with increasing rotational speeds. At a rotational speed of 73.3 m/s (35,000 rpm), SMD is lower than 60 μm at the entirety of the measuring space in the case of Type 2 (injection orifice diameter of 1.5 mm) and Type 3 (injection orifice diameter of 2.2 mm). Therefore, conceptually, it is possible to apply this small rotating fuel injection system to the micro-turbojet engine combustor.